


There's Nothing Like Summer in the Forest

by thekindworthreading



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Swimming, it got a bit more angsty than planned, past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23327746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekindworthreading/pseuds/thekindworthreading
Summary: Thomas takes Alexander for a picknick. Everything seems to be going great, until something triggers Alexander´s childhood trauma.
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 87





	There's Nothing Like Summer in the Forest

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a short ficlet for @gagakumadraws on tumblr, but somehow it got a lot longer, so after staying up the whole night writing this, here we are...

“Where are you taking me?”, Alex asks again, but Thomas just hums, and walks further into the forest, the younger man trailing behind him.

“Do you want to kill me?”, Alex tries again, his voice the tiniest bit suspicious. “I would strongly advise against that, because I´ve told Washington that I´d spend the afternoon with you.”

“Do you ever shut up?”, Thomas asks, instead of giving an answer.

He looks back over his shoulder, and shakes his head amused. Alex pouts, of course he does, and they continue with their way. There seems to be no apparent path Thomas is following, but he still seems to know exactly where to go. It´s a hot summer day and out in the open it would almost be too hot to bear, but here in the forest the air is fresh and cool. After a while Thomas starts to point out different plants to Alex and even though he doesn´t really care about that, he finds himself enjoying the low and soothing voice of his companion. They continue like that for about half an hour, until Thomas takes a sharp left turn, and suddenly, they are at a clearing. It looks breath-taking. In the middle of it, is a small pond, the water crystal clear and Alex can even see a few fish swimming in it. Although it´s just a small pond, it seems to be quite deep. On the other side, a river flows into the pond, and Alex can hear the soft rushing of the water.

“You seem to like it.”

Thomas´ voice startles Alex, having almost forgotten, that he isn´t alone here, and he jumps a bit.

“It´s quite nice.”, he says, and Thomas chuckles.

“Come, over there is a great place to sit down.”

They walk up to an old willow, and Thomas takes a blanket out of his backpack, and stretches it out on the ground. For a moment, Alex is surprised by it, before he sits down, and pulls off his shoes.

“No manners whatsoever.”, Thomas jokes, and Alex sticks his tongue out at him.

He watches the older man as he takes out a few apples, and two bundles, that look like sandwiches, before he sits down next to Alexander. While they eat, they chat about a thousand different things, and Alex finds himself as happy and relaxed as he hasn´t felt in months.

After they have eaten, Alex leans back and closes his eyes, enjoying the soft summer breeze on his skin. He must have fallen asleep, for when he opens his eyes again, the sun is a lot higher on the sky than before. He sits up, and stretches, his eyes searching for Thomas. When he doesn´t find him immediately, there is a moment of panic, that Thomas has just abandoned him here, before he spots the brown curls down by the pond. He watches Thomas for a few moments, before he gets up, pulling his socks off, and walks over to the other man.

“The beast awakes.”, Thomas greets him, and Alex rolls his eyes.

The sun is burning down relentlessly now, and he can feel himself starting to sweat. Thomas seems to be noticing, because he nods at the water and asks: “Wanna go for a swim?”

Despite the heat, Alex can feel a chill running down his back, and he quickly shakes his head.

“Come on, don´t be such a bore.”, Thomas teases.

Alex takes an involuntary step back, shaking his head again.

“No, I´ll stay here. You can go.”

Thomas rolls his eyes.

“Fine. Be that way.”

When Thomas starts to undress, and doesn´t pay him much attention anymore, Alex begins to relax. He pulls off his own shirt and enjoys the warmth of the sun on his skin. He closes his eyes for a moment, which is why he doesn´t notice Thomas sneaking up to him. Before he can do anything, he gets lifted by two strong arms. He lets out an embarrassing squeak, and Thomas laughs. He starts walking towards the water, and as soon as Alex notices that, he begins to squirm, trying to get away, but Thomas´ hold is too strong. He feels panic rising in him, his heart beating loud and fast.

“Don´t.”, he pleads, close to tears.

Now Thomas finally seems to notice that something is wrong, because he stops and looks down at the man in his arms. As he sees the state Alexander is in, the smile on his face dies, and he carefully puts him back down on the ground. He still keeps his hands on the smaller man, as if he´s afraid that he will fall.

“Alex, what´s wrong?”

The younger man takes a few deep breaths, before he tentatively looks up at Thomas.

“I nearly drowned as a child, and… and since then I´m afraid of water.”, he says quietly.

“Oh Alex…”

He tenses when Thomas wraps his arms around him, and pulls him to his chest, but a moment later he melts into the embrace. Slowly he can feel his heartbeat returning to normal, as Thomas strokes his hair.

“I´m sorry.”, Thomas mumbles, and Alex presses himself closer to him.

“It´s alright.”

Thomas takes a step back, so that he can look into Alexander´s eyes.

“It´s not. You said you didn´t want to, and I should have respected that.”

They are quiet for a moment, before Alex gets an idea.

“You could teach me how to swim. To make up for it.”

Thomas just looks at him surprised for a moment.

“You´d want that?”

Alex nods.

“Yes. It has to be someone I trust, and who I feel safe with, so the choice is obvious.”

There is a look of amazement on Thomas´ face, when he nods.

“You want to start now?”

Alex eyes the water, his heart picking up speed again.

“Maybe we´ll just sit here for a bit, and you can explain the basics?”, he says after a while, and Thomas nods.

“Of course. Come.”

They sit down in the grass, their shoulders brushing. As Thomas talks about how swimming works, Alex can feel his heart flutter in his chest, but he is sure that it´s not because of his fear of water.

“This is all I can really say about this, without showing you.”, Thomas concludes some time later.

Alex nods, looking down at his hands.

“We can just come back some other day.”, Thomas says, seeming to notice Alexander´s hesitance.

His head shoots up and he looks at Thomas almost indignantly.

“I said I want to do this, so we´re doing this.”

He practically leaps to his feet, and starts undoing his trousers, before Thomas can even react. Thomas stands up too, watching Alex closely.

“What I meant is that you don´t have to do this when you are not ready. There is no shame in it.”

This time Alex actually glares at him.

“Well, I am ready.”

Thomas sighs softly, and starts to undress as well, and soon the two of them are left in just their underpants. Alex feels a bit uneasy, but there is no way he´ll back down now, so he takes a step forward, closer to the water. Thomas joins him, resting a hand on the small of his back. Even though the touch is so light he wouldn´t even be able to feel it through a shirt, Alex has to supress a shudder.

“Don´t worry. We won´t go in far. You´ll be able to stand the whole time, and I´ll won´t leave your side.”, Thomas says softly, who seems to have misread Alexander´s reaction.

The younger man nods, and takes a tentative step forward, touching the water with his toes. Goosebumps rise on his skin and Thomas, the asshole, laughs.

“You didn´t tell me it would be that cold!”, Alex accuses him, shivering again.

Thomas just keeps on laughing. He makes a few steps into the water and lets out a sigh.

“What are you talking about? This is nice.”

He reaches for Alex, grabs his hand and softly pulls him into the water. The smaller man stumbles against him, and Thomas steadies him with a hand on his hip.

“You are so graceful, Alexander.”, Thomas teases, his voice sounding oddly off.

“Fuck you too, Jeffershit.”

Thomas chuckles.

“Oh so eloquent.”

Before Alex can reply anything, Thomas takes his hands, walking backwards and pulling him further into the water. Alex tenses a bit as he feels the water reaching up to his knees, clutching Thomas´ hands tighter.

“Wait, can we like… slow down.”

Instantly, Thomas slows his pace, giving Alex a reassuring smile.

“I got you. Nothing can happen to you.”

Alex nods, trying to match the other man´s smile, but it still looks a bit forced.

“I know.”

They walk further into the water, Alex still holding on tightly to Thomas´ hands, until the water reaches his pants. Thomas stops, and Alex feels relieved, before he remembers what´s to come.

“Ready?”, Thomas asks, and Alex shrugs.

“I guess?”

Thomas nods.

“Alright, can you lie down on your back for me? And I will hold you up.”

Alex just stares at him, the fear clear in his eyes.

“You trust me, right? You know that I´d never let anything happen to you?”

Slowly Alex nods.

Carefully, Thomas manoeuvres Alex around so that he is floating in the water. His whole body is tense, and he has a death grip on the other man´s arm.

“Alex, try to relax a bit. And you have to let go of my arm.”

Alex gives him a panicked look, but after a soft “trust me”, he does his best to relax his muscles. Thomas´ hand leaves Alexander´s and instead wraps around his back, while the other one keeps his head above water. As Thomas continues to talk soothingly to Alex, the smaller man feels himself relaxing. After some time, he even starts to enjoy it; the warm sun on his face, the cold of the water, and Thomas´ strong hands keeping him safe.

“You´re doing so great.”, Thomas praises, and Alex feels himself blushing a bit. “How about we try some actual swimming now?”

“But this is nice.”, Alex whines, and Thomas laughs.

The younger man opens his eyes, looking up at Thomas and sees a fond smile on his face. His heart does a weird jump at that, but again, Thomas doesn´t seem to notice what effect he has on him. _Or he just doesn´t care_ , his brain helpfully provides. The light feeling is gone in an instant and Alex shrugs Thomas´ hands off, getting to his feet again. Somehow it feels weird, after just floating in the water for so long.

“Let´s just go.”, he says, not meeting Thomas eyes.

He starts walking towards the shore, but Thomas catches his wrist, spinning him around again. The worry is evident in his eyes, as they search Alex´ face.

“Have I done something wrong?”

Alex shakes his head.

“You seem upset.”

He shakes his head again.

“I´m fine.”

“But-“

“Goddamn Thomas, I said I´m fine!”

He takes a step back, wrenching his arm away from Thomas´ grip. He had anticipated a lot more resistance, so the force of the movement has him stumbling. There is a moment of panic when he slips, his heart skipping a beat, and he lets out a shocked scream, before falling into the water. Almost instantly cold water fills his mouth and everything around him seems strangely muted, the only noise he hears loud and clear is the fast beating of his own heart. He tries to get back up, but he doesn´t know where the surface is. Rationally, he knows that the water isn´t that deep and that he can just stand up if he calms down a bit, but the panic has almost taken over his entire brain.

After what feels like hours, but could only have been seconds really, two hands grab him, yanking him out of the water. He starts violently coughing almost immediately, relief flooding his body when he is able to draw in his first breath of sweet air. Alex barely notices that he is being carried to the shore, holding tightly onto Thomas.

A few moments later he is put down on the blanket. He has started shivering and is glad when Thomas wraps a towel around his trembling form.

“I am so sorry.”, Thomas whispers, but Alex shakes his head.

“It´s not your fault.”, he says, his voice sounding scratchy.

He raises his head, looking up into Thomas´ eyes, and suddenly he is crying. Thomas looks shocked for a moment, before he pulls Alex into his lap, softly cradling his head against his chest.

“You are safe now.”, Thomas mumbles.

“I know.”, Alex gives back, with a small hiccup in his voice. “I´m always safe with you.”

He looks up at Thomas and he doesn´t know who moves first, but it doesn´t really matter, because they are finally kissing, Thomas´ lips moving softly against Alexander´s. When Alex lets out a desperate sound, Thomas just holds him tighter, deepening the kiss. It´s by no means perfect, it´s messy and Alex is still crying, but somehow it´s far better than he has ever imagined. When they reluctantly part again, they are silent for a few moments, both just staring at each other.

“I still hate you.”, Alex finally says, and he can feel Thomas´ chest vibrating with laughter.

“Of course, you do, darling.”, Thomas answers, pressing another kiss to Alexander´s lips.


End file.
